# Head of People (Temporary 9 month contract)

**Company:** [Applied Blockchain | Applied Edge](http://jobs.workable.com/companies/gEU3sgoWi1FEKmFdLXsomh.md)
**Location:** London, United Kingdom
**Workplace:** hybrid
**Employment type:** Temporary

[Apply for this job](http://jobs.workable.com/view/105500a4-bfcc-4744-8f28-9dc52fcced69)

## Description

**Fixed-term contract**

This is a fixed-term role, running from early September 2026 until the second week of May 2027. The role exists solely to provide cover during the current post-holder's maternity leave, with a deliberate overlap at each end to allow a thorough handover in and out.

### Applied Blockchain | Applied Edge

Applied Blockchain | Applied Edge helps regulated enterprises navigate AI and digital assets. We build and advise on AI systems, digital asset applications and privacy-preserving infrastructure.

### About the role  

We are looking for an experienced People leader to cover our HR and recruitment function during a period of maternity leave. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will own the people strategy, lead the function, and manage and oversee in-house recruitment.

You will line-manage two team members — one who run day-to-day HR and one who handles recruitment — so this is primarily a leadership and oversight role, directing how the function operates rather than delivering every task yourself. That said, the role stays close to the detail: you'll shape how onboarding, performance, wellbeing and 1-1s are run, and step in hands-on where needed, such as HR interviews at peak hiring periods. It suits someone comfortable both leading and, when required, rolling up their sleeves.

### What you’ll be doing  

-   **People & HR. Own and oversee the employee lifecycle and people experience across the company, including:**

-   The performance review cycle.
-   Turnover risk assessment and retention.
-   Employee relations — grievances, disciplinaries and conflict resolution.
-   Compensation and benefits administration, and supporting the salary review cycle.
-   HR policies, the employee handbook and general employment-law compliance across the markets we hire in.
-   Training, development and coaching.
-   Team wellbeing resources and support.
-   People metrics and reporting to leadership.
-   Oversight of regular 1-1s across the team.
-   Employee surveys and acting on the findings.
-   Onboarding and offboarding.
-   Employment contracts, references and work-eligibility checks.
-   Absence, leave and family-leave management.
-   Exit interviews.
-   Maintaining HR records.

-   **Recruitment. Manage and oversee in-house recruitment end to end:**

-   Coordinate with hiring managers on roles and requirements.
-   Own candidate experience and offer management.
-   Liaise with external recruiters and manage agency relationships.
-   Manage the applicant tracking system and candidate pipeline.
-   Track recruitment metrics (e.g. time-to-hire).
-   Write and refine job descriptions and role scopes.
-   Shape and drive recruitment marketing and employer-brand strategy.
-   Hands-on CV review, interview scheduling and HR interviews at peak times.

-   **Team leadership**. Line-manage and develop two direct reports — the HR team member and the recruitment team member — and act as the point of escalation for people matters across the business.

## Requirements

-   Proven experience leading an HR / People function (Head of People, HR Manager or similar).
-   Strong grasp of the full employee lifecycle and HR best practice.
-   Comfortable with employment law across multiple jurisdictions — we hire internationally (single-country expertise not required).
-   Familiar with how Employer of Record (EoR) hiring works.
-   A confident leader who's still happy to be hands-on at busy times.
-   Solid recruitment experience across hiring managers, external recruiters and interviews.
-   Experience line-managing others — this role has two direct reports.
-   Strong interpersonal skills, with the discretion to work directly with the CEO.
-   A self-starter who gets up to speed fast and works autonomously.
-   Comfortable adopting new tools, including AI-based ones.
-   Right to work in the UK (no visa sponsorship).
-   The role involves handling situations under stress, and requires ability to deal with stressful situations.
-   Available for the full term, early September 2026 to mid-May 2027.

### Nice to have

-   Experience managing international / distributed teams and working with Employers of Record.
-   Experience owning recruitment marketing / employer branding.
-   Experience in a fast-moving tech, software or startup/scale-up environment.
-   Experience or interest in the blockchain and/or AI sectors.